He suffered a stab wound to the neck and was taken to hospital by helicopter, police said. An eyewitness said a man ran onto the stage and stabbed Rushdie while he was still being introduced. The attacker was taken into custody.
The perpetrator was arrested in the event hall in Chautauqua, the New York police said. At 11:00 a.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT local time), “the male suspect ran onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer,” it said. The 75-year-old writer was taken to a nearby hospital by helicopter. “Nothing is known about his condition.” The interviewer has a head injury.
The “New York Times” quoted a witness: “There was only one attacker”. And further: “He was dressed in black. He was wearing a loose black garment. He ran towards him at lightning speed.” The police and medical emergency services were called to the event venue in Chautauqua, the police confirmed to the German Press Agency on Friday.
Called to kill: Rushdie had to go into hiding
Because of his work “The Satanic Verses” (1988), Rushdie was once covered with a fatwa that called for his death. Some Muslims felt their religious sensibilities were offended by the work. Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued an Islamic legal opinion calling for the killing of Rushdie and everyone involved in distributing the book. A Japanese translator was later actually killed. Rushdie had to go into hiding and was given police protection.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the attack on Rushdie as a “terrible event”. “Our thoughts are with Salman and his loved ones following this horrific event. I have directed state police to further assist with the investigation if required,” Hochul wrote on Twitter on Friday. She thanked the emergency services for their quick response.
Award in Austria
Rushdie was born in the year of Indian independence in 1947 in the metropolis of Mumbai (then Bombay). He later studied history at King’s College, Cambridge. He had his breakthrough as an author with the book “Midnight’s Children” (“Midnight’s Children”), which was awarded the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981. In 1992 Rushdie was awarded the Austrian State Prize for European Literature.
According to his publisher last year, the ayatollah’s fatwa no longer had any meaning for Rushdie. He is no longer restricted in his freedom of movement and no longer needs bodyguards. However, the years of hiding did not leave him untouched. He processed this time in the 2012 autobiography “Joseph Anton”, named after his alias
Rushdie, who was born in India, was criticized in the Islamic world primarily for alleged blasphemy in his book The Satanic Verses. In 1988 the book was banned in many Islamic countries. In 1989, the then spiritual and political leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a so-called fatwa to kill Rushdie. The Iranian leadership later withdrew from this appeal to all Muslims.
Source: Nachrichten
